


In The Highest Room Of The Tallest Tower

by A_Plethora_Of_Peters, IgnotusSomnium, Juan_Pujol_Garcia, Sinna



Series: The Inherent Romanticism of Dragons [18]
Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Found Family, Gen, Sleeping Beauty Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:20:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26182576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Plethora_Of_Peters/pseuds/A_Plethora_Of_Peters, https://archiveofourown.org/users/IgnotusSomnium/pseuds/IgnotusSomnium, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juan_Pujol_Garcia/pseuds/Juan_Pujol_Garcia, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinna/pseuds/Sinna
Summary: A castle in New Constantinople is said to be where a prince rests in a cursed sleep. Rumors also speak of a fiery entity that guards the castle and chases out any intruders. Jonny and Nastya have been hired to investigate.
Relationships: Drumbot Brian & Jonny d'Ville, Jonny d'Ville & Nastya Rasputina, The Aurora/Nastya Rasputina
Series: The Inherent Romanticism of Dragons [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1832185
Comments: 23
Kudos: 140





	1. It's The Rumor! The Legend! The Mystery!

As Nastya bought supplies, Jonny kept an eye out for potential trouble. Most people passed by without so much as glancing their way, but there was a group that was clearly scoping them out.He gave them the stink-eye and drew closer to her. He tuned back in to their conversation as the assholes scuttled off.

"Thank you for the food." Nastya politely said, handing over the amount of money that they had bargained for.

The young woman nodded and asked shyly, "Where are you two headed? Anywhere in particular?”

"We were hired to explore a castle to the east of here? Something about it being abandoned...?" Nastya trailed off in a way that Jonny knew meant that she was fishing for answers.

"They hired you two to go there?" She looks distraught at the news. She leans in close and whispers, "You listen here: that castle is cursed! Ever since Snow's Rebellion ousted King Cole it's been abandoned, but every night the windows light up as though there are people still inside!"

Jonny frowned. "You mean the place is empty?"

She shook her head and wrung her hands. "No, not at all! The Prince still sleeps there! Has been for the past decade!"

"A prince?" Nastya echoed.

Jonny felt his absent heart sink. "Sleeps?"

"Prince Brian," she confirmed with a sad look. "I was just a child, no more than 6 years old at the time, but I can remember that he was said to be a kind man. Unlike his Uncle, King Cole." As she said the king’s name, she made a small pushing gesture away from her chest with all of her fingers curled into a claw, a local superstitious movement to ward off evil. "Something happened to make him fall into an enchanted sleep, if rebel witness accounts are to be believed! No one has dared to go in to wake him! My uncle heard that the King hired a Witch to put a curse on the castle that hurts anyone that goes in to try to rescue him!"

Jonny and Nastya exchanged a look. It certainly explained why the local nobility was so keen on getting information on the place. Desperate enough to hire them, a pair of random wanderers, "as a last resort”.

Nastya smiled at the teary woman and asked gently, "Did the people that fled give a description of what stopped them?"

"Some said it was a demon. Others say that it was a hellhound. A few even claimed it was a floating skull! All of them agree that whatever it was, there was a lot of fire involved." The woman shivered at the thought.

Jonny started turning over thoughts of what sort of spells could result in such varied reactions. Nastya, for her part, handed the woman a couple of silver coins and gently thanked her for the additional information. She took Jonny's arm and pulled him away, back towards their camp on the hill outside of town.

"So what should we do?" Nastya asked as Jonny lit their campfire with a snap of his fingers and a muttered word.

Jonny shrugged at her. He pulled out one of the apples from her bag, stuck it on a stick, and held it above the fire. "We do what we were hired to do?"

Nastya sighed, curling up at his side. "I guess? Kinda feel bad for this prince that she was talking about. I mean… imagine just suddenly falling asleep, and you're just stuck asleep for years until somehow you get woken up." She started to pull up the grass around her before saying, "I wonder if he can dream. Is he just like… laying there, aware of what's going on around him?"

"Most sleeping spells say no." Jonny replied, glancing over at her. "A dreamless slumber is usually what happens to people that get those kinds of spells cast on them."

Nastya frowned, resting her chin on her knees. Jonny glanced away and tried to focus on the curse. He couldn't imagine going through that. An endless dreamless slumber that couldn't be broken by anyone but a complete stranger. Add on the thought of waking up years after you fell asleep only to find out that nothing is as you remember it…well. That part - he certainly could relate to that feeling.

Jonny pulled the apple out of the heat and tested it gingerly with his fingers before handing the stick to her. As he put another apple on a stick, he sighed. "I hope that the curse doesn't have one of those shitty love compulsions...."

Nastya carefully bit into her cooked apple a couple times before his words registered. She paused and looked at him questioningly. She swallowed. "What do you mean by 'love compulsion'?" 

"Some witches or Fae will add a mini-curse onto the primary sleeping curse." Jonny explained bitterly. "It compels the sleeper to fall in love with either the first person they see upon waking or the person that specifically woke them up. Usually both."

Nastya visibly shuddered at the thought. “Agreed.” Jonny knew his expression was probably just as disturbed. Being forced to love a complete stranger was awful. What if the person you were forced to love was cruel? What if they actually hated you? What if they were obsessed with you?

Jonny pulled his own apple from the flames and bit into it. After a few minutes of silence, he finally said, "We're going tomorrow evening."

Nastya grimly nodded in agreement. "Tomorrow evening."

~0.0~

The sun was low in the sky as Jonny and Nastya approached the castle.

As the young woman had said, the windows of the distant keep were all lit up from the inside. The lowered drawbridge over the algae-choked moat was covered in a thick layer of fallen leaves and creeping vines blooming with bright red flowers. 

"Huh…Awful thick for just a decade's growth…" Jonny muttered, carefully stepping over the flowers. They were unnaturally bright in the dimming light. Like splashes of blood, or tongues of fire. He shivered, imagining accidentally crushing one under his heels, the flower crunching like bone under him.

Nastya moved through the flowers with a dancer’s effortless grace. "They are magic roses," Nastya absently said, as she examined the walls of the empty guardhouse at the gate. The roses had coiled through the boards, climbing up them. "It's a protective measure, I think. Step on or lean against a flower and it's like an alarm."

Jonny took even more care stepping over the flowers. "Alarm for who? Who hears the alarm?"

Nastya shrugged as they entered the courtyard that led up to the castle keep. They both paused, looking around.

The castle wasn't as large as they expected, the vines making it appear much larger from a distance. The reddish stones that made up the walls were barely visible under the past decade of plant growth. More roses on the vines glowed like embers in the dying light of the sun.

In the courtyard, it seemed like the castle had been abandoned in the middle of people doing their jobs. Yet outside of the weeds and the occasional rose vine snaking across the ground, everything was perfectly preserved, as if the past decade or so hadn't passed at all. 

There were baskets of food by the entrance to the kitchens, still in perfect eating condition. Fruits and vegetables were stacked high, untouched by rot or insects. The bread was still soft and tore apart easily when Jonny idly picked up a loaf. It was even still warm, like it had just come from the oven. 

The lanterns at either side of the doorways were lit, but as far as the siblings could tell the burning wicks didn't use up any oil or wax. A massive firepit in the middle of the courtyard glowed with embers that didn't even try to consume any of the untouched wood within. A quick peek into the stables confirmed that while there were no horses in there, there weren't any vermin feasting on the abandoned feed either.

The eeriest part by far was the silence. Besides their faint crunching footsteps on the leaf-littered ground, there wasn't a single sound to be heard, as if the whole castle was holding its breath.

Nastya looked up at the castle from where she stood with Jonny just past the front gates. "This place is creepy."

"Just a little bit." Jonny was mentally preparing a few offensive spells in case whatever fiery defenses the castle had were shootable. "Well. We got this far, there's no point in going back now."

"Yeah." She gave him a sidelong glance and smiled. "Let's get this party started."

They slowly crossed the weed-choked courtyard to the doors of the castle, looking around warily. Jonny restlessly peered into every shadow like it might hold a monster. The silence unnerved him more than he wanted to admit. No crickets chirping, no birds twittering. There was nothing. Every single movement and sound that the duo made sounded unnaturally loud in the eerie quiet.

Eventually they reached the main doors. Nastya frowned a bit as she looked at them. No locks, but they were completely barricaded by vines. “None of these are the rose vines,” she said distantly, drawing her knife. As Nastya started carefully cutting through the greenery, Jonny grew frustrated that he hadn't had anything to shoot yet. He started blasting the plants away.

Nastya gave him an exasperated look. "You think that's the most efficient way to do that?"

"Yes?" Jonny answered, as the scorched remains of most of the plants fell away from the door. Along with parts of the door, but whatever. 

Nastya sighed. “Doesn’t feel like we should be damaging this place...but fine." She stepped back from the door so Jonny could access it better.

Jonny blasted away the rest of the plants on the hinges and the join of the two doors. He won’t admit how much it took out of him to Nastya, but it got the job done. He grabbed one of the door handles and pulled hard. Slowly, the door ground open.

Nastya helped Jonny pull the door open and stepped inside, looking around the entry hall. The eerily oppressive silence remained unbroken. Even though the halls were brightly lit it still seemed… dark. She shifted, visibly on edge. "Any idea where the prince is supposed to be? Or do we just...wander?"

"With our luck? Either the highest tower or the lowest dungeon." Jonny sighed. He has unfortunately gotten used to the weird logic of situations like this.

Nastya hummed thoughtfully. "Do you want to stick together, or split up so we can cover more ground?"

"Split up. Sounds like whatever defenses are in place are more interested in scaring people off than hurting them, so worst case scenario we’ll have a chance to regroup and plan with a bit more information.”

"Alright." Nastya gave him a concerned look, then sighed and said, "Don't do anything stupid. I can check downstairs."

"I'll be very careful not to scare some old cobwebs," Jonny said. "I'll see you in a bit." He headed off towards the area where the main tower appeared to be from the outside. He all but heard Nastya rolling her eyes as she started making her way through the servants’ quarters.

~0.0~

The kitchen, when Nastya found it, was spacious and neat, and were it not for the eerie stillness of the castle she might have described it as cozy. This wasn’t what she was looking for. She should move on. But the fire in the hearth was burning low, reduced to glowing embers, and it felt...off. It felt important. She kneeled in front of the hearth and set to gently, carefully stoking the fire.

It barely stirred in response to her nudges. Nastya frowned, staring into the glowing coals. She tried to determine what was off about it.

Suddenly it clicked what was so strange.

Everywhere else there had been a fire, with the exception of the fireplace in the courtyard, flames flickered in their containment. This was the only place where she saw embers instead.

Nastya hummed and tried adding some wood to the fire. It caught and started to burn slightly but nothing more than a small flame appeared. It was like something was holding the fire back from engulfing the logs.

Her gaze unfocused as she stared into the flames. They were very pretty. She sighed resting her folded arms on the edge of the hearth to watch the flames better. Jonny wouldn't mind if she took a break from searching. Just…a short…break...

~0.0~

Jonny wandered through the castle, focusing much more on the layout than the elegant furniture and decor. He took a few wrong turns, but eventually found a grand staircase that went up, and up, and up. With a determined frown, he started climbing.

At the top of the stairs, he paused to catch his breath and look around the small room he had found. Rather than tapestries or paintings, instruments of various kinds, mostly stringed were hung from the walls. A desk sat to Jonny’s left, piled high with papers and several percussion instruments. 

Several very tall stacks of books leaned against each other, threatening to topple to the floor at the foot of a simple wood framed bed that was against the far wall next to a window that led out to a balcony. Lying on his back, dead asleep, was what appeared to be a man made entirely of metal. A heart-shaped silver locket gleamed from its resting place on his sternum. 

Jonny suspected that he had found Prince Brian.

Jonny carefully studied the man in the bed. He looked soft and handsome in sleep, even though he was apparently made of metal. Weird. It was odd that no one mentioned this aspect of the prince. That seemed like a point someone should have mentioned sooner. 

The prince’s arms were settled so that his folded hands gently rested on top of his stomach. Jonny took a couple moments to try and examine them as well as marvel at how his hair pooled across his pillow despite looking like it was made of wire. 

He looked as if he was just a human sized doll that some giant child had laid down to rest.

Jonny was very careful not to touch anything as he completed a brief circuit around the room. He didn’t know what, if anything in the room, might have caused the curse. He had some idea how it could be broken, but the idea of kissing someone he didn’t know while they were asleep made him queasy. So, with the prince located, he went back downstairs to find Nastya.

"Nastya!" Jonny shouts, his voice echoing around the empty castle. Eventually he reaches the kitchens and sees a familiar figure. "Nastya, I found him!"

Nastya didn’t respond to Jonny’s words. He frowned, worried, and walked closer. She sat in front of a small but lively fire, apparently fixated on it. “Nastya? You okay?”

Nastya snapped out of whatever weird trance she was in and got to her feet, turning to look at Jonny. "What?"

"Found him.” Jonny studied his sister, but didn’t see anything wrong. “Top of the highest tower, just like I said."

"Oh." She frowned a bit. "Well, what are you doing down here, then?"

Jonny hesitated. "How am I supposed to wake him up?"

"Well...you could try kissing him?"

Jonny scowled. "I'm not going to kiss a sleeping stranger, Nastya. That's really fucking creepy."

Nastya rolled her eyes, folding her arms. "I think he'd probably forgive you for it if it broke the curse. But fine. I don't know, try looking for enchanted objects? You're the witch, not me."

Jonny resisted the urge to facepalm, but just barely. "I will! I will do that!" He turned heel and marched out of the room. He paused in the doorway to snap back at her, “And I’m not a witch!” then headed back up the long, long stairs.

Nastya looked back at the fire as soon as Jonny left. She didn’t know if it was her latent fae instincts or something about the castle, but she  _ knew  _ it was special. She sat back down, staring at it. It seemed to be...dormant, or something. Like the rest of the castle, but more so. 

Nastya considered her options. She had already stoked the fire, and that didn't do it. Maybe…she should take her own advice?

This time, when Jonny reached the top of the stairs, he cast a truesight spell as he entered the room. Immediately, everything about the prince lit up. His gaze was drawn to the silver locket around his throat, the intricate engravings on its surface glowing a nauseating not-green. Without even thinking, Jonny grabbed the locket and yanked, snapping the chain around the prince's neck.

Nastya hesitated for a moment before bracing her hands on the edge of the hearth and she leaned in to put her face in the fire, lips puckered.

There was a popping sensation as the chain shattered into pieces, leaving the cold silver locket in Jonny's hand. 

The embers of the hearth crackled and flared to life as the sleeping prince released a long-held breath, his eyes slowly flickering open.


	2. Cause I'm Half Sick Of Shadows, I Want To See The Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brian and Aurora awaken and meet the siblings...

Ashes frowned down at the pillow pile. They nudged aside a few blankets to unearth Marius. “You need to get up, dear.”

He just blinked vacantly up at them instead of responding. Ashes sighed. “This isn’t a good place to hibernate. At least go to an actual bed?”

Marius’s blinking grew less blank and more confused. “I - hibernate? Humans don’t hibernate.” 

Ashes stared at him confused. “What do you mean? Of course they do.”

“He’s right,” Ivy said from across the room. “Humans don’t hibernate. Well. Unless they’re under a very specific curse,” she amended.

If even _Ivy_ was aware of this, it must be very basic human knowledge. Ashes considered this for a moment. Then, they extrapolated the concept to one particular night a few years ago. “Fuck.”

~0.0~

To Brian, waking up felt like he was trying to move water or sand with his bare hands. He knew that the waking world was there but it was difficult to hold onto. Gradually, consciousness slowly crept in one sense at a time.

First was touch, or what limited touch he had while he was metal. 

His whole body felt like it was being pressed down upon as he tried to open his eyes and sit up. As if his metal body was primarily made of iron and lead rather than brass and copper. Opening his eyes, Brian could already tell, was going to be a struggle.

The next sense to come to him was his hearing.

He could hear the machinery and his heart chugging away inside him. He could hear his own breathing, the first breaths Brian had taken in… he wasn't sure how long. After a few moments, he realized he could hear someone else breathing as well. 

The person that woke him up? The thought of seeing whoever had rescued him gave him the motivation to fight through the remaining fog of sleep that surrounded him.

Brian groaned softly as he finally managed to open his eyes. He hissed softly in pain as he squinted in the bright torchlight. He had been in darkness for so long that the light hurt. Once his eyes adjusted, he carefully sat up with a soft groan.

He blinked in partial surprise. There was someone in his room. A young man with blonde hair and strange markings like lightning around his eyes. 

Brian looked at the stranger dazed. "W-Who...?”

"Good morning!" The man grinned at him. Brian could tell that he was nervous as he amended. "Late afternoon, technically. Jonny d'Ville, your humble rescuer, at your service."

The man, Jonny, dropped into a brief half-bow. Respectful but not overtly so. Brian was relieved that his being metal prevented him from blushing. His rescuer was cute.

Brian slowly lifted a hand to run his fingers through his wild hair. He was suddenly very aware of how messy he was. "Jonny? … It's nice to meet you. I'm Brian...But you probably already knew that if you're here..."

Jonny nodded. "Yeah, I did. Where'd you get this nasty piece of work, anyway?" He lifted his fist and opened his hand to reveal a heart shaped locket in his palm.

Brian stared at the locket, confused. A locket? Why was that important? It was very lovely… 

After a few moments, his face twisted with mixed rage and sorrow as he remembered- 

_"All you need to do for me now, my boy, is to fulfill your purpose."_

_"Purpose?"_

_"It's why I took you from Aufhocker. Your primary curse is so useful, keeps any curses aimed at me away. I already had many physical defenses against attacks. I just needed magic defenses. And Carmilla was all too happy to put an additional curse or two on you to keep you under my thumb. Now sleep. Snow's little rebellion will be here soon and I will win because anything her little witches will throw at me will hit you instead."_ -

"A man that claimed to be my uncle gave it to me." Brian finally managed to say.

"Ah, family. That's usually how it is," Jonny remarked sagely, nodding. “Well, I'd suggest getting a real cursebreaker on it. Or just smashing it. I'd go with smashing it if I was in your place.”

Brian held out his hand for the locket wordlessly. Jonny raised an eyebrow as he handed it over, head tilted curiously.

Brian looked at the locket bitterly- _the heart of the castle shall sleep until they are kissed or the locket is removed, this castle has two hearts_ \- before clenching his fist, crushing the locket. He forced himself not to flinch at the squeal of metal scraping against metal or the crunch of glass. 

He opened his hand and let the twisted fragments of metal and powdered glass fall onto his bed. It wasn't like it could hurt him as he was now.

Jonny gave a low impressed whistle. "That's one way to do it. Last of the curse magic is gone."

Brian hummed softly in response, looking distantly at his hand. The curse was gone and he was awake. Cole was also gone. Did the rebellion succeed? He couldn't imagine Cole letting Jonny rescue him if they hadn't.

He roused himself from his thoughts and asked Jonny, "How long was I asleep?"

"A decade or so, as long as anyone knows," Jonny said with a shrug. He had a faintly worried look as he eyed Brian. Probably expected him to have a breakdown. 

Which he would. Later though. When he was alone.

Brian shakily exhaled. "That's…better than I feared. Could've been a full century."

"That would be normal for a fairy curse," Jonny said with a shrug. "But it wasn't! So, congratulations?"

Brian hummed softly to himself before asking, "Did you come alone? I thought Aurora had to be freed at the same time to break the curse properly..."

"My sister's here- Who's Aurora?"

"The castle's fire spirit." Brian explained. "She controls a lot of the castle. I... I haven't spoken to her myself. Unc- Cole never let me."

"She wouldn't happen to be located in the hearth in the kitchens, would she?" Jonny asked, voice a little amused.

Brian blinked at him in surprise. "Yes, actually. How did you-" He brightened as realization dawned. "Oh! Is that where your sister is?"

"That's where I left her." Jonny rolled his eyes. He looked fond talking about her. "She probably kissed a fire, didn't she?"

Brian laughed softly and nodded. "Very likely." He shook his head and softly said. "Why are curse makers so creepy? Why is that what they choose to make the trigger to break them? It's so…rapey."

Jonny raised an eyebrow. "How many curses have you seen broken?"

"On myself or others?" Brian asked.

"...Either?" 

Brian did some quick mental math. "Ummm…about ten that were cursed that were not me. And I've had…sixty or so curses broken on me? In the past… 24 years? Well 34 now since it's been 10 since I went to sleep."

Jonny gaped at Brian. He honestly couldn't blame him for reacting like that. "What the **_fuck_**. You - you should be dead. Several times over. How?"

"Curse in disguise as a blessing." Brian sighed before reciting. " _Your son will attract the sorrows of the world and change them into joy_."

Jonny hissed through his teeth. "That's a nasty one. Sounds like something- Well, fuck whoever made it."

"I currently have...six curses active?" Brian slowly said. He mentally checked on the curses he had.

_-your presence makes people content but any curses that are cast on them are attracted to you- any lie that passes your lips will cause them to leak poison- repressing your emotions will freeze your heart and the ice will spread until you are frozen solid unless you accept those emotions- your personality will be swapped using the trigger words "Ends Justify Means" and "Means Justify Ends"- all cats all hate you and will hiss, claw, and bite anyone and anything to avoid you- every sunrise you will turn completely into metal and every sunset you will revert to flesh until your True Love kisses you-_

"There's the one that attracts curses to me, one that keeps me from lying, one that freezes me when I don't emote, one that alters my personality, one that makes me unpleasant to cats, and..." He hesitated before saying quietly "...my transformation curse..."

"Fucking hell," Jonny said. He looked stunned at the list that Brian just rattled off. "Well, least it's one less than it was this morning. Right?"

Brian smiled gently at him. He appreciated the restraint to not press for details about any of them. "Yeah, that's true. I...thank you for helping me."

Jonny shrugged, clearly uneasy about being thanked. Probably wasn't thanked by random strangers too often. "That's what we do. Do you wanna get out of this room?"

Brian hesitated looking around his room. This was all he knew. But…it wasn't a home for him. Not anymore. He sighed and nodded. "Yeah...that would probably be best..."

Jonny nodded and started out of his room, heading down the stairs. After a moment, Brian sighed, got out of bed, and followed him.

~0.0~

The flames of the hearth burst outward dramatically as Aurora was able to actually _move_ for the first time in far too long. When she realized someone was watching her, Aurora retracted to the size and appearance of a normal kitchen fire. She took a moment to study the visitor - apparently, her cursebreaker.

She was pretty. Her shoulder length hair fell over her shoulders and her glasses reflected the sight of Aurora's own flames back at her.

The person leaned in a bit—not too close and cautiously spoke. "...hello?"

That was different. Most people did not really...talk to her. She politely responded. "Hello."

The person relaxed and grinned, obviously pleased. "Oh! Hi! You're alive!"

"Yes, I am." Aurora hesitated for a moment, then allowed herself to risk forming a human shape. She mirrored the stranger’s general size and posture, kneeling amongst the logs in the massive hearth. "Who are you?"

"I'm Nastya." Nastya started to hold out a hand, then quickly retracted it, smiling a bit sheepishly. Her face tinted a bit silver.

Aurora recognized this custom, although it surprised her to see a fae using such human formalities. She cautiously extended a hand to Nastya. "I am Aurora."

Nastya only hesitated a moment before Aurora's hand. "Nice to meet you, Aurora." She smiled.

Aurora kept her touch just cool enough to not burn or be uncomfortable. "The feeling is mutual. What brings a child of the Courts here?"

Nastya froze. She drew her hand back, looking down. "I'm— I'm not," she said quietly. "I'm not their child. They didn't— I'm not. They didn't want me."

"I see." A changeling, then. That made a bit more sense. "Who came here with you? The curse could not have been broken alone."

Nastya looked up at Aurora again. "My brother. Jonny. He went to wake the prince."

Aurora nodded, then realized she…didn’t know what to do, now. As miserable as her captivity had been, she grew fond of having people around. Aurora fell silent, contemplating. 

Nastya shifted, a little awkwardly. "Aurora? Are you okay?"

"I don't know," Aurora admitted. "But I am glad to be awake, so. Thank you."

Nastya gave her a small smile. "You're welcome." She turned a bit silvery again, in what Aurora cautiously identified as a blush. "I'm sorry for— Um. You know. I didn't mean to be. Forward."

Aurora didn’t understand for a moment. Then she did and flushed herself, red flames deepening slightly to a dark orange. "It's perfectly all right."

Nastya nodded, still blushing. "O-okay. Well." She cleared her throat. "I...guess I should go see if Jonny managed to wake the prince. Will you...be alright? No one lives here anymore. It seems. Lonely."

"...It would be," Aurora confessed. "Could you - I am. Weakened, right now. If you light the brazier under that table, I can… go with you?"

"O-oh." Nastya smiled shyly. "Yeah. Of course." She fetched the brazier and lit it using the fire in the hearth, rambling. "We can...we travel, usually. We don't...have anywhere. But we can find you somewhere! A nice house to live in, somewhere you'd be comfortable."

Aurora crackled uncertainly. She was…not sure if that was what she wanted. "I would be honored to join you for some time."

Nastya's smile widened slightly. "You're welcome to travel with us. I just..." She shrugged. "It's not much of a life."

"Neither was being bound here," Aurora pointed out, moving into the brazier. The fire in the hearth died without her to support it. She watched the last ember fade with an odd melancholy. Prison or not, she couldn’t bring herself to relish a flame dying.

"I guess that's true." Nastya got to her feet, holding the brazier carefully. "I guess we can just see how you like it."

"I look forward to it." Aurora was...quite fond of her, she realized.

Nastya smiled. "Me too," she said softly.

~0.0~

Jonny entered the main hall at about the same time as Nastya. He waved at her. She made a triumphant noise and hurried up to him. "Jonny! I see things went well on your end."

"You're not burned," Jonny noted, relieved. He was not good at healing magic. He gave the lit brazier in her hand a weird look as the flames visibly recoiled, but didn’t ask. Yet.

Nastya blushed violently. "I— What— How did you know?!"

Jonny pointed back at Brian, who was standing a few paces behind him. "Apparently the curse on Brian and the one on Aurora had to be broken simultaneously."

"Oh." Nastya looked at Brian. "I'm glad our timing worked out, then." She extended a hand. "I'm Nastya. You're so strong for dealing with Jonny first thing after waking up. I admire you."

Brian stepped forward to stand next to Jonny, smiled and took her hand. "Brian. And he wasn't a problem at all." He made an aborted motion as if he was going to kiss her hand but ultimately didn't.

Nastya raised her eyebrows at Jonny with a smile. "That's uncharacteristic."

Jonny shrugged. "I _can_ be polite," he said. It had nothing to do with Brian being kind of cute, honestly.

Nastya hummed. "But you usually choose not to be." She grinned and winked at him. Jonny glared at her smug, leaping-to-conclusions face.

Brian laughed at their exchange. Jonny glanced back at him, then had to do a double-take. Brian looked radiant in the light of the setting sun. No, that wasn't - he was actually glowing a soft golden color. The metallic shine faded, leaving him somehow even softer than before.

Within a few moments, the prince was completely human.

Jonny stared. Oh. That was what he meant by transformation curse. And he was definitely still cute.

Brian finished laughing and seemed momentarily confused about why both Jonny and Nastya were staring. Before Jonny could open his mouth to say anything, Brian’s expression shifted into one of fear and embarrassment, then it went forcibly flat. As he attempted to feign neutrality, frost materialized, spreading across his skin and clothing.

Jonny mentally flailed, trying to figure out how to fix this. He sighed in relief as Nastya reached out and put a hand lightly on Brian’s arm. "Hey, Brian, it's okay. I'm sorry for staring. We were just surprised." She tried to make her voice soothing.

Jonny gently touched Brian's shoulder. "Sorry, that was rude. I'm an asshole."

"He is," Nastya confirmed helpfully, nodding at Brian.

Brian closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. The ice slowly faded away as he calmed himself down. "It's okay." Purple fluid dripped from cuts that opened up and then sealed up rapidly on his lips. He sighed, wiping his lips clean with the back of his hand. Jonny didn't like how practiced the gesture was.

Nastya frowned. "Would it be okay if I hugged you?"

Brian hesitated before nodding.

Nastya set down the brazier, stepped forward, and wrapped her arms around him gently. "I'm sorry. I know what that's like. I should have known better."

Jonny knew he was shit at comforting people, so he didn’t get involved in the hug. He didn’t let go of Brian's shoulder though.

After a moment he tentatively asked, "Would it help to go outside?"

Brian nodded and quietly said. "Yes..." He hesitated. "But...Aurora...?"

“Oh! She’s in here.” Nastya stepped back and picked up the brazier.

Jonny turned his attention to the fire spirit within as she expanded from the center to fill the entire bowl. Her crackling sounded almost nervous and her voice held an inhuman echo as she said, “Hello.”

Jonny would be the first to admit he didn’t know everything about magic, but he could tell that a spirit like this shouldn’t be so...weak. His mind raced, trying to figure out the proper etiquette - he and Nastya had enough enemies without looking for more. He settled on a moderately deep bow. “It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Aurora. I’m Jonny d’Ville.” Nastya gave him a weird look for it, but he avoided her eyes. She didn’t remember the Courts, she couldn’t understand.

The flames flickered in a pattern Jonny couldn’t begin to decipher. “Pleased to meet you, Jonny. The formality is unnecessary. It is good to finally meet you properly as well, Prince Brian.”

Jonny glanced at Brian to find - seriously? - yet another concerned expression. At least it didn’t last long, as the prince turned to face the brazier and bowed shallowly to Aurora. “Likewise. And...just Brian is fine.” He straightened with a smile that Jonny refused to feel gay about. “Now that we're all properly introduced, I think we were heading outside?”

Jonny led the group out of the main hall and froze in the doorway leading back outside. In the center of the courtyard, illuminated by the dying sunlight, sat a massive crimson dragon.

 _Fuck_.


	3. Chapter 3

Jonny stared. "What the fuck." Why the fuck was there a dragon here? It may be a castle, but it wasn’t exactly overflowing with gold. It hadn’t seen them yet; maybe they could still hide? He glanced back at Nastya and found her apparently frozen in shock. He grabbed Brian’s arm to try to push him back, unsurprised to find that the prince had tensed as well.

"Is… Is that someone on their back?" Brian asked, bewildered.

Jonny gave him an incredulous look, then actually managed to focus on the details of the  _ giant fire lizard _ that was  _ way too close to them _ . Huh. There was indeed something human-shaped perched on their back. "Looks like, yeah, but more importantly, it isn't attacking us yet..." He gestured frantically for Nastya to retreat back into the hall.

"Do you… think they're safe to approach?"

Only his fear of attracting attention kept Jonny’s volume down at Brian’s question. “It’s a  _ dragon _ ,” he hissed. This should be self-evident! Weren’t princes supposed to know things??

Before Brian could respond, the dragon’s head turned. Jonny felt the full weight of his stone heart as a giant golden eye fixated on their small group. He braced himself, readying an attack spell. Maybe he could buy enough time for Nastya and Brian to run? Probably not, but like fuck was he gonna give up without a fight.

The dragon did not fry them. Or lunge at them. Or make any aggressive move. Instead it - shrank? The dragon shifted into human form, catching their - Jonny focused his still-active truesight spell - human rider in their arms with practiced ease. The dragon studied the group with a smile that revealed still-too-sharp teeth. "Well. This is convenient."

"Hello," the human said with an extremely out of place cheerful wave.

"Convenient?" Brian cautiously said, before Jonny was able to form words. "What… what do you mean?"

The dragon shrugged, making no move to set down their human. "I’ve checked in on you before, a while back. We were coming to see what we could do about this curse, but it appears you've already broken it."

"You knew I was here. You knew, and you didn’t do anything?" The restrained rage in his voice made Jonny glance over in concern. He bit back a curse when he saw the frost once again spreading over Brian’s body.

"Most of the country knew you were here," The dragon pointed out.

Jonny grabbed Brian's cold, frosted hand to keep him from doing anything stupid. "Well, surprise! Curse is over. You can go now." He was relieved to feel the frost melting away as Brian took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Where do you plan to go now?" the human asked. 

Brian squeezed Jonny's hand. "I… I don't know? This is… this is all I've ever known..."

Ah. Jonny hadn't thought of that. Like an asshole. "My sister and I are travelers. We go wherever there's work or interesting magic."

"I could offer you some interesting magic," the dragon suggested. Their human frowned and gestured for them to set her down. She stared at Jonny as they did so, eyes eerily unfocused. 

"No offense, but what's the saying? Don't get involved with dragons because you're flammable?" Jonny gave their human a weird look. "What's your problem?" He didn’t want to provoke the dragon, but the glazed look she was giving him was really unsettling...

"...You learned from Carmilla, didn't you?" She might have said something after that, but Jonny didn’t hear it. He couldn’t, not through the ringing in his ears and the painfully distant sound of his own pulse.

Jonny snapped out of his impending panic attack at the sound of Brian’s voice. "Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with duck sauce." Brian said softly. He frowned. "Carmilla… She was the one that gave the locket that cursed me to King Cole."

No wonder the fucking locket felt so familiar.  _ She _ had fucking made it. It didn't make him any less scared, though.

"...don't,” Jonny managed to rasp, cursing how weak his voice sounded. “We left."

"I  _ thought _ something felt familiar here." The human gave the dragon a Significant Glance. 

The dragon turned their sharp gaze on Jonny. "Carmilla? You're… what? Her apprentice? Is that why you're here?"

Jonny's grip tightened on Brian's hand. He was probably hurting him, but couldn’t manage to let go. "Not- I was. But she. We ran away," he admitted. He didn't want to get into how she used him and Nastya as test subjects, how "lessons" usually meant "figure out the counterspell or die." He glanced at Brian when the prince squeezed his hand back, and saw that he was looking worriedly at him.

The human studied Jonny, eyes focused this time. It didn’t make her scrutiny any less disconcerting. "How long… Do you want to stop running?"

The dragon nodded, meeting Jonny’s gaze with - understanding? No, that couldn’t be it. "I can protect you from her."

Jonny kept his eyes locked on theirs. He would not flinch. "Right. Can you fuck up the Queen of the Fair Folk too?" He heard Nastya’s boots scrape on the floor behind him, but refused to turn his back on the dragon.

The dragon smirked. "My magic is equally matched to hers. I can at least keep her from taking you."

Jonny knew dragons were powerful, but not  _ that _ powerful. This was too good to be true. "No matter what she sends after me?"

"If you're willing to be part of my hoard, my claim to you will be greater than hers."

There was the catch. Jonny bristled. "So I'm trading one master for another? No thanks."

"I don't like it either, but it's the only way I know to protect you. I can promise I won't force you to stay if you ever want to leave. Which is more than you'll get from her."

“It’s not  _ ownership _ , more like...” Their human glanced at Brian. “I mean, you’re a prince, right? Oaths of fealty for protection? It’s more in line with that.”

"We can work out a detailed contract if that will make you feel better," the dragon offered.

Brian bit his lip. "I… I would like a contract I think."

Jonny looked at Brian, confused, feeling somehow betrayed. Which didn't make sense. He barely knew this guy, and had no fucking reason to be upset over this.

Ashes nodded. "We can set one up before we leave. Ivy?"

Their human nodded and rummaged through her pockets. Jonny tensed, but she only produced a pen and paper. “Is there - table or something, for writing?” Now that he was actually paying attention to her, instead of the far more threatening dragon, Jonny noticed something. The snarls of a very nasty curse were woven around her head in some twisted parody of a veil. The handiwork was Carmilla’s. Her style was...unmistakable. Jonny frowned, unsure what to make of that. Maybe that was why the dragon seemed interested in protecting them? Well. Spite was a motivation he could work with.

  
  


-

Nastya had been content to hang back and let Jonny lead the conversation. As belligerent as her brother could be, he was far better at navigating social situations than her, and with a  _ fucking dragon _ involved they couldn’t take the risk of her screwing up and dooming them all. At least, it had been an intentional choice, right up until the woman with the dragon mentioned Carmilla. Nastya’s focus shifted to her as she battled a wave of nausea. Her and her iron earrings, on clear display with her hair in a braided updo. Maybe Jonny was focusing on the wrong threat - they both knew what normal humans were capable of, what sort of human ran around with a dragon anyway - no. No. Nastya was being hypocritical. What sort of human ran around with a changeling? 

Nastya forced down her fear and managed to focus on the conversation. She couldn’t be zoning out while Jonny was bartering for their lives. Current discussion topic seemed to be contract negotiations. "There's a bench in the garden?" Brian suggested.

Nastya cleared her throat behind him. “...introductions. No negotiations without introductions.”

Nastya did not flinch as the dragon’s gaze shifted to her. "I am Ashes. And this is my archivist, Ivy."

Likely the best they were going to get. Nastya nodded. “Nastya. These are Jonny, Brian, and Aurora.”

Ivy glanced between Nastya and Jonny, expression unreadable. “You’re his sister?”

"Yes," Nastya said immediately, gaze snapping to Ivy. She silently dared her to challenge that statement. Ivy stared at her for a long moment, then nodded. Nastya tensed when Ivy reached for her iron earrings, but she merely slipped them off and into her pocket. Nastya relaxed slightly at the sight of her empty hands. They weren’t truly gone, obviously, but as a gesture of goodwill...“We’ll hear you out.”

“Would you mind leading us to the garden, then?” Ivy asked Brian.

“Oh! Yes, of course.”

Ashes watched Aurora intently. Nastya instinctively drew the brazier closer to her, but their gaze wasn’t aggressive, just - concerned? "Would you like a bigger flame? Once we've settled in for our discussion?"

Aurora crackled and darkened, surprised. “I would appreciate that,” she answered.

Brian said, "There's a fire pit in the garden next to the bench. If you want to light that, Mx. Ashes."

The group made their way to the garden in tense silence. Ashes and Ivy sat on one side, Jonny and Brian across from them. Ivy sat at attention, paper in hand, and didn’t so much as blink when Ashes blew flame into the empty fire pit right next to her. Nastya couldn’t help but smile as Aurora leapt into the larger blaze joyfully, even as she forced down a pang of irrational jealousy. It was only to be expected, of course. A dragon could offer far more to a fire spirit than some weak, random changeling. Nastya felt Jonny’s hand on her arm, guiding her to sit down next to him.

Nastya wrapped her arms around herself. "So. What is it you're offering?"

"Protection,” Ashes said immediately. “Hoard magic is Old Magic. If you join my hoard, I can protect you from the Fae Court, and I can protect you from… Her."

Nastya looked at Jonny, brow furrowed. "That's… We'd be free," she said quietly. "We wouldn't have to run anymore."

"Hoard can't be killed," Ivy added quietly. "Physical safety, in addition to the more abstract magical aspects."

Nastya looked at her brother. Her short-lived, squishy, entirely mortal human brother. She didn't know if what Ivy said was an incentive for  _ him _ , but it most certainly was for her. She tried not to let it show on her face. He shouldn't be making a major decision based on how sad she'd be when he died.

"Does being hoard protect from curses?" Brian asked. "I… I have a curse that makes me a target for any curses cast around me."

"I admit we haven’t tested that," Ashes said. "But we do have a witch back at my lair who would be happy to help."

“What will we owe you?" Jonny asked, suspicion clear in his voice.

Ashes shrugged. "I'd ask you to stay with me. Not all the time, but most of it. I'd like your friendship, but I won't make that conditional. All that matters is that you're mine. I don't need or want to enforce anything more than that."

Jonny was visibly concerned. "What does ‘being yours’ entail?" he asked, trying to piece together euphemisms.

"Honestly, I don't really understand how it works for living hoard very well, but it seems to be just… I decide I want you, and you agree to that. I'm not asking for any sort of… physical claiming or anything, if that's what you're asking." Ashes looked ill at the very idea.

"You're asking what they get out of it, to clarify?" Ivy asked.

"Yeah," Jonny said, more to Ivy. "Why the fuck would you want a couple washed up changelings? What do we do to be worth your protection?"

"I'd hardly describe you as 'washed up.’ You did just break a pretty damn intricate curse,” Ivy pointed out.

Something approaching understanding crossed Ashes’s face. "Well, besides the fact that my instincts are constantly screaming at me to grow my hoard, the larger a dragon's hoard, the more powerful they become. The more valuable the additions, the more power they add. And it turns out that people are extremely valuable." 

That, at least, Jonny seemed to understand, although it didn’t reassure him any. "How many people do you have?"

"So far, three. Ivy, the witch I mentioned, and a knight who we talked out of challenging me."

Nastya leaned against Jonny and took his hand. "Would we have to agree right away? Or can we come and see where we'd be living, meet the others, get a better sense of what we're agreeing to?"

"You're welcome to come and see the place. You'd also be able to leave anytime, if you so choose. I won't hold you against your will." They smiled at Aurora. "The offer also extends to you,  _ fflam fach _ ."

Nastya bristled. Just a tiny bit. Not noticeable to anyone who wasn't standing right next to her, hopefully. How did they already have a pet name for her? Jonny squeezed her hand gently, bringing Nastya back to the present.

Aurora crackled wordlessly for a moment, considering. “I already agreed to travel with Nastya and Jonny. If they go with you on a temporary basis, I will do the same.”

Nastya's heart skipped a beat. "I— Oh. Really?" She blushed. She was sure Aurora was more interested in this dragon than she could ever be in someone like her.

"Do any of you have specific questions or concerns?" Ivy asked, not looking up from her writing.

Jonny leaned into Nastya and whispered in her ear. "You sure about this?"

Nastya turned her head slightly toward Jonny. "Only if you are," she murmured. "I'm not making any decisions without you. Or for you." She squeezed his hand.

Jonny nodded. "We'll go with you. To see what it's like." He gave Nastya a knowing look. If it wasn't good, they could always run again.

Ashes grinned. "Brian, would you also like to wait and see before deciding?"

Brian slowly nodded in agreement. "That seems only reasonable. I - may I bring my books? And instruments?"

"Of course. It's agreed then. Let's find a cart and pack up anything anyone wants to take, and we can get out of here." Nastya flinched as Ashes moved closer, but they only breathed a bit of extra flame into the empty brazier next to her. Aurora flowed back into the relit brazier with a faint crackle.

Nastya picked it up and gave Ashes a small, nervous smile. She took Jonny’s hand - whatever the future held, they would face it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fflam fach - little flame


End file.
